Below is an annotated list of children's literature for the elementary classroom. The books are organized by the Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design (Picower, 2007). It is based on work by pre-service teachers at Montclair State University. They have read and reviewed these books and provided insights into how they can be used in K-5 settings.

Summary: Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Bully is a great book for children grades one or two struggling with feeling out of placed or picked on. Max is a little boy who is completely petrified of Bertha, the school bully. Every student within Max's school is scared of Bertha, but Max has the most fear. Max develops a plan to protect himself from Bertha and stand up to her by buying a dog. The dog is a big hit at the park and everyone wants to play with Fang, the dog. Bertha approaches Max and demands he gives her the dog but, Max stands up for himself and tells her no. This starts a trend and every other kid she attempts to bully at the park that day stands up for themselves. Bertha left the park very upset. Once the kids were no longer scared of Bertha, she no longer was mean towards them and they all became good friends.

Element 2: This book relates to Element 2, respect for others, because it shows children that if people are nice and respect each other everyone can get along and have a great time. When Bertha was mean to the kids no one liked her and everyone feared her, as a result she did not have any friends. When the other kids stood up to Bertha she experienced how bad she made each kid feel when she was mean to them. This made Bertha realize how mean she was being and that she needed to change her ways in order to establish friendships in her school. Once Bertha understood that everyone deserved respect the other kids gladly befriended her and they had great times together there after.

Activity: There are many things that can be done within the classroom to promote kindness and friendship among all the students. The teacher could start by reading the book aloud to the class and then ask the students if they have ever been in a similar situation and how it made them feel. Chances are most of the students will raise their hand and they will realize that each one of them has been through this experience. Then the teacher can have the students name things that are not nice to do to each other and write them on a bulletin, for things that students not do and why. The teacher can then also make another bulletin for ways to escape bullying and prevent it. The students can supply scenarios in which bullying might occur and together they can establish a more productive way to handle the situation so no one walks away with hurt feelings and everyone can be friends.

Why I Choose this book: Bullying is becoming an increasing problem throughout schools and it is starting at even younger ages. The results of bullying can be very severe and effect a student's schooling, behavior, and personality. I wanted to address this issue so more teachers, parents, and even students understand the severity of bullying within schools. I recently attended a seminar focused on bully, its effects, and ways to stop it. This issue is not going to disappear on its own it needs to be addressed and taken more seriously so future kids do not need to fear running into the school bully in the hallway. According to the American Justice Department, 77% of all students are being bullied daily and as a result are doing poorly in school, staying home from school, and developing low self esteem.